A GP in Sydney’s south-west who asked to stay anonymous tells Crikey how vaccine misinformation is leading to threatening letters and demands for exemptions from patients.
This has been the most challenging time that I’ve ever seen as a GP. We’re having debates daily with people about vaccinations and our patience is wearing thin. I’ve never encountered this; where I work generally has an extremely high vaccination rate.
We’ve started getting emails and letters written in threatening tones from patients, a lot of whom are CC’ing MP Craig Kelly and using his arguments. They’re wanting us to give them exemptions, either for the COVID-19 vaccination or so they don’t have to wear a mask when they’re clearly not eligible.
They’re sending us links to huge amounts of misinformation and are demanding we guarantee that if we vaccinate them, there will be zero side effects, nothing will go wrong and they won’t get COVID.
The government should have released a vaccination information campaign much earlier to make the science much clearer.
I’m most disappointed in the politicians who are spreading so much crap, spreading misinformation. Ultimately people will die from that.
Most patients are doing the right thing, and many just want to talk through their concerns. I’m a private GP, but I haven’t been private-billing any patients who want extra information about the vaccine. I was spending hours upon hours a week talking to people.
I tend to give them medical evidence and refer them to reputable sources like the Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre which is a fantastic website that spells out a lot of the myths and evidence.
Some people have concerns about mRNA vaccines or concerns around fertility (there’s no evidence that any vaccine has impacted fertility), but others have told me their church leaders say vaccines are the work of the devil, which is obscene and incredibly disappointing.
It’s a very small subset, but there are people who — even if you spend half an hour with them running through safety and efficacy data — just don’t want to hear it.
It’s also a challenging time because we’re seeing a lot fewer people for preventive health, and people are presenting much later and are seriously unwell because they’ve been putting off seeing the doctor. That will be a big issue for GP workloads once lockdown ends.
People who are selfish enough to not get the vaccination will not be getting an exemption from me unless they fall into the extreme minority of someone who requires one.
If you’re selfish enough to refuse the vaccine, you could make yourself very sick, and someone could die because of you.
Can we please have a Freedom from Religion law. These bloody cranks are causing trouble in the outback of WA as well Pentecostals by and large over there. Morrison and his cowardly cabinet contribute by not having the gumption to call Kelly out and the media are so happy to get Palmer’s money that they won’t look at his background. For him to talk about truth and believing someone…….
Somebody said the other day that freedom of religion also means freedom from religion.
Yes thank you.
It does. To anyone other than persons who draw up legislation regarding this issue……
Thank you old grey beard.
Absolutely.
Those crackpot charlatans should be called out for intentional fraud (with intent to cause actual boldily harm).
Misconstrued “beliefs” should be no “protection” where harm is directly caused.
Kelly should be in jail, plain and simple, Palmer too. Hard to see how the LNP cabinet are not accomplices.
This spreading of false information is criminal no matter how you look at it – if suitable laws do not exist,, then make them – URGENTLY.
Kelly and Palmer are effectively yelling “Fire” in a cinema.
Worked last time . Only need to convince a couple of ill-informed voters per 100 to win an election . Combine this with the dirty digger Rupert and you have a “miracle win”.
Theyd be raiding every pub in oz
There is no chance of honesty in politics until we have a potent federal crimes commission and both sides of politics federally appear to be afraid of the requirement, to tell the truth in particular in advertising
It is an iron rule of politics that both ‘sides’ claim to want FoI & clamour for an integrity watchdog whilst in opposition.
However, on achieving office, some strange alchemy removes this enthusiasm.
Good for you Doctor, for speaking out and pushing on.
I cannot believe the stupidity being put on show by people you’d otherwise think were sensible souls. Nor can I believe we have to put up with untruths from MPs, religious groups and just plain cranks – the effect putting the rest of us at risk – without some means of penalising them and shutting them down.
It’s all the rusted on political animal who will support their mob, tight or wrong. For the LNP it’s usually wrong, but of course they are covered by Murdoch and other who have the loudest voices and the most bucks to toss around.
Putting out accurate and timely information would be asking this Government to show an intelligence, a determination and a sense of perspective that it clearly doesn’t have, and doesn’t want.
They know what they are doing. We need to understand things are not working because they are not intended to work the way Australians think it should. If something doesn’t work there is a reason for that circumstance. 2021. Wake up.
Not in the DNA of this lot.
The response of the public to this pandemic in general demonstrates just how fickle, capricious and unpredictable so many people are. It seems to me that in some ways many people in our so-called ‘modern’ 21st century society have a mentality that is more from the Middle Ages.
I wonder just how many of these recalcitrant individuals have had any sort of meaningful education in science let alone medicine?
Also, as a couple of the above posts indicate, the religious witch-doctors and warlocks who prey on the ignorant and the superstitious, have a great deal to answer for..